Manufacture or treatment of textile products



Patented Aug. 9, i932 on sronnon, nnan nnnnv, and w on or AMERICA, aconronarron or nnnaw a.

l 5: i. R TREATMENT OF TEXTILE PEOD'UCTE No Drawing. Application filedQctober a, 1928, Serial No. 311,263, and in Great Britain November 2,

This invention relates to a new or improved process for dividing,parting, trimmingpr perforating woven, knitted or other fabrics (butespeclally woven fabrics) made of or containing threads or yarns ofthermoplastic material such as cellulose acetate or otherorganicderivatives of cellulose, and to the products obtainable by the process.

Processes are described in U. S. patent ap-' plications Serial Nos.

151,023, 206,120, 224,287 and 227 ,629 filedon November 26th 1926, Julyth, 1927, October 5th, 1927 and October th, 1927, respectively, forutilizing the thermoplastic property of thermo- 15 plastic materialssuch as cellulose acetate or other cellulose esters or ethers to effectthe sealing against fraying or ravelling of the fabrics when severed,hot knives or other cutting devices being employed to sever the fab- 20rics and simultaneously to seal the severed edges by melting orsoftening the threads or filaments of the cellulose ester or ether.

We have now found that the operation of dividing, parting, trimming, orperforating such fabrics may be assisted by providing for the presenceon or in the fabric of a small quantity of a solvent or softener of thecellu-' lose ester or ether, the solvent or softener serving to reducethe melting or softening point thereof thus enabling the knives, blades,wires, dies or other tools to be employed at lower temperatures, andthereby to avoid disadvantages arising from the use of tools at too higha temperature, such as scorching and discoloration. The fabrics may betreated a with the solvents or softeners prior to the pin dividing,parting, trimming or perforating operation or the presence of thesolvent or softener in or on the material of the fabric or softener,such as diacetone alcohol, may

dividing, parting, trimming or perforating operations.

We indicate below a number of industrial apphcations which, and theroducts thereof, are particularly include in the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is in no .way confined to theseparticular applications.

As an example, a length or iece of woven fabric of the character referreto land especially a fabric made wholly of t reads or yarns of celluloseacetate or other cellulose, ester or other) after being treated, as byspraying the fabric with a suitable solvent be divided or parted intoany number of widths, strips,,ribbons or pieces by drawing or passingthe fabric in contact with one or more circular or other knives bladesorthe like heated to the required temperature,

whereby the cellulose ester or ether yarns are melted along the line orlines of contact with the knife or knives, blade or blades or the like;the heated surface or surfaces seals the edges by melting the threads atw the same time cementing them toget er. This constitutes a simple formof binding to the edges of the pieces. Alternativel of course the heatedknife or knives, bla e or blades or the like may be drawn across thestationary or moving fabric. The dividing or parting may be performed inany direction of the fabric, for instance transversely orlongitudinally, 6r both transversely and longitudinally. If a number ofsuitably disposed knives, blades or the like are employed a number of.bands, strips or ribbons may be severed simultaneously. The bindingformed by the fusionv of the filaments or threads during the dividing orparting of W the fabrics may replace selvedges in the resulting bands,strips, ribbons or pieces of fabric. The sealing of the edges by theheat as referred to in the case of ribbons and the like constitutes amarked advantage over ribbons, etc., with glued edges, in that nodeterioration of the ribbon, etc, takes place when the edge sealed byheat gets wet.

If desired the position, pressure and temperature of the heated knives,blades or other tools may be so arranged that complete scission of thefabric does not occur, but only art of the threads in the line of theknives,

lades or tools are severed, for instance the position, temperature andpressure of the knives, blades or the like may be so adjusted that onlythe upper face threads at the oints of intersection of the warp and we tare severed, by which means a line or lines of perforations may beproduced in the fabric.

As another exam la the invention ma be applied to the pro notion ofwoven la ls, tabs or the like by severing them from a. suitable fabric.F or example a fabric may be woven from threads of cellulose acetate (orother cellulose ester or ether) with a *number of repeats of the labelor tab across the width (for instance 20 repeats), the lettering ordesign of the label or tab being formed from similar or dissimilarthreads to that of the fabric. After the fabric has been treated with asuitable solvent or softener, such as diacetone alcohol, the labels maythen be severed entirely or by a line or lines of perforationslongitudinally and transversely from the fabric with a heated knife orknives, blade or blades or the like in a manner similar to that abovedescribed As another example of application of the invention a heateddie or dies or like tools may be em loyed to cut or stamp out pieces ofany-desired shapes, such as rectangular, circular, elliptical, or anyfancy shape from a fabric of the character referred to, the

. fabric having been treated with a suitable solvent such as diacetonealcohol in order to reduce the temperature required in the die of thepattern or of the pieces stamped or cut out by the heated die or dies.

As another example the invention may be applied in the trimming off ofyarn used in figure work where floating tissue on the back of the fabricis woven in but has to be removed in finishing. Thus for instance afigured or like fabric may be woven with a floating weft of threads ofcellulose acetate (or other cellulose ester or ether) and with a groundof silk, wool, cotton or other vegetable or animal fibre or artificialsilk of the cellulosic class (e. g. cuprammonium, visco'se or denitratednitrocellulose artifiloial silk) and, after the fabric has been treatedwith a solvent or softener as described in the previous examples, thefloating tissue on the back of the fabric may be removed by a heatedknife, blade, or the like. The presence of the solvent or softenerenables the knife,

blade, or the like to be used at a lower temperature. The severed endsof the floating tissue become sealed together and the loose,- ness whichfrequently characterizes such figure work is largely or entirelyprevented.

It is to be understood that the above applications of the invention aregiven only'by way of 1llustration and that I in nowise limit In selfthereto.

The nives, blades, wires, dies or other tools employed may be heated tothe desired temperatures by any suitable means. Conveniently they may beheated electrically, by which means the temperature may readily becontrolled.

In the'case of the application of the invention to mixed fabricscomprising thermoplastic yarns or threads of cellulose acetate or othercellulose esters or ethers and yarns or threads or other silk, wool,cotton, artificial silks of the cellulose type or other textile fibres,the present invention can be applied by arranging for the presence ofthermoplastic yarns or threads located where the dividing, parting,perforating or the like is to take place; such threads should run acrossthe line or lines of scission or perforation.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I 1. A process ofcutting woven, knitted, or other fabrics in dividing, parting, trimming,or perforating operations, said process comprising treating a fabriccontaining yarns of a thermoplastic material with a substance thatlowers the softening point of the thermoplastic material, and effectingat least a partial scission of the fabric by means of heated cuttingmeans.

2. A process of cutting woven, knitted, or other fabrics in dividlng,partin trimming, or perforating operations, sai process comprisingtreating a fabric containin yarns of organic derivatives of cellulosewit a high boiling solvent for the organic derivatives of cellulose, andeffecting at least a partial scission of the fabric by means of heatedcutting means.

3. A process of cutting woven, knitted, or other fabrics in dividing,parting, trimming, or perforating o erations, said process comprisingtreating a abric containing yarns of cellulose acetate with a substancethat lowers the softening point of the cellulose acetate, and effectingat least a partial scission of the fabric by means of heated cuttingmeans. Y

4. A process of cutting woven, knitted, or other fabrics in dividing,parting, trimming, or perforating operations, said process comprisingtreating a fabric containing yarns of cellulose acetate with a highboiling solvent for the cellulose acetate, and effecting at least apartial scission of the fabric by means of heated cutting means.

5. A rocess of cuttingwoven, knitted, or other fabrics in dividing,parting, trimming, or perforating operations, said rocess comprisingtreating a fabric contaimng arns of cellulose acetate with diacetonealco 01, and

effecting at least a partial scission of the fabric by means of heatedcutting means.

6. A process of cutting woven, knitted, or

other fabrics in dividing, parting, trimming,

or perforating operations, said process comprising treating a fabriccontaimng yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose with a high bollingsolvent for the organic derivatives of cellulose, severing the abric bymeans of heated cutting means whereby the severed edges are at leastpartially fused, and thenpermitting the edges to sohdify.

7. A process of cutting woven, knitted, or other fabrics in dividing,parting, trimming, or perforating operations, said rocess comprisingtreating a fabric contaimng yarns of cellulose acetate with a highboiling solvent for the cellulose acetate, severing the fabric by meansof heated cutting means whereb the severed edges are at least partiallfuse and then permitting the edges to solidify 8. A rocess of cuttingwoven, knitted, or other fa rics in dividing, parting, trimming,onperforating operations, said process comprlsing treating a fabriccontanmg yarns of a thermoplastic material with a substance that lowersthe softening point of the thermoplastic material, and removing shapesfrom the fabric by means of heated cutting means whereby the severededges of the shapes and the fabric are at least partially fused, andthen permitting the edges to solidify.

9. A rocess of cutting woven, knitted, or other fa rics in dividing,parting, trimming, or perforating operations, said process comprisingtreating a fabric contaimng yarns of cellulose acetate with a hi hboiling solvent for the cellulose acetate, an removing sha from thefabric by means of heated cutting means, whereby the severed edges ofthe shapes and the fabric are at least partiall fused, and thenpermitting the edges to soli 1 10. A process of cutting woven, knitted,or other fabrics in dividing, parting, trimming, or perforatingoperations, said rocess comprising treating a fabric contaimng yarns ofcellulose acetate with diacetone alcohol, and removing shapes from thefabric b means of heated cutting means, whereby t e severed edges of theshapes and the fabric are at least partially fused, and then permittingthe edges to solidify.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed m name.

WILL AM ALEXANDER DIGKIE.

